Improvement in fire-place grates



D. RUMMEL.

y Fire-Place Grates. N0,l5l,l63, Patented May`19.1874v.

T Frrcn.

CHRISTIAN RUMMEL, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT EN FIRE-PLACE GRATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. lhd, dated May 19, 1874; application filed March 2, 1874.

To alt whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CHRISTIAN HUMMEL, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio, have invented certain new an d useful Improvements in Grates, of which the following is a specification: l

This invention relates to a grate whose cresset or fire-basket is lcapable of being drawn forward within the nre-place, or shoved back at pleasure, so as to increase or diminish the capacity of said basket, or to conceal it entirely during the summer season. To accomplish this result I fit within the side walls of the fire-place two jamb plates or blocks, composed of cast-iron, and having slots within their opposing faces, which slots are traversed by lugs that project from the ends of the basket. The slots in these supporting-blocks or jamb-plates should be long enough to allow the grate to be shifted the proper distance,

y and the rear portion of the grate must rest at all times upon a fixed section whose bars are coincident or in the same vertical plane as the aforesaid shiftable gratesection. This fixed grate is necessary in order to prevent the formation of a gap or opening at the rear of the lire-place when the shiftable section of the grate is drawn to the front.

The above is a brief description of the preferred form of my invention when a special basket is furnished with each grate 5 but to render this improvement applicable to old grates it must be modified as follows: The saine jamb-plates are employed, and, in addition to the same, two hooks, which are inserted in the slots of the aforesaid plates. The inwardly-projecting ends of these hooks have engaged over them the customary lugs that are cast upon the ends of all fire-baskets, and, being thus suspended, any ordinary basket can be shifted within the fire-place as readily as anew one constructed especially for the purpose.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a grate embodying my improvements, the frame thereof being broken awayintwo places so as to expose the jamb-blocks and their accessories. Fig. 2 is a vertical section at the line w x, the firebasket being in its advanced or forward position. Fig. 3 is another section in the saine plane, the basket being shown as shoved back into the fire-place. Fig. 4 is a section at the line y y looking toward the front of the grate, as indicated by the arrows in Fi g. 3, and showing a modiiication of my invention. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the jamb-pllates on an enlarged sca-le; and Fig. Q is a similar View of a jamb-plate with a hook applied to the same for the support of an ordinary rebasket. y

A represents a grate-frame or other openfront fire-place, having the customary si-.le wall or jambs B B', and a back, O, which jambs and back may be composed of masonry, tiles, or other suitable materials. Fitted within the side walls B B', and at any proper height, are jamb plates or blocks D D, whose exact shape is more clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. By referring to these illustrations it will be seen that said blocks consist essentially of vertical plates D D', having longitudinal slots d in them, whose lower edges are in the same horizontal plane as the bases E E. These bases E E of the jamb-blocks may be provided at their rear ends with upturned projections c e to insure their secure anchorage in the side walls of the fireplace, while the front ends of said bases are chamfered off, or otherwise shaped so as to fit up snugly behind the frame A of the grate or open-front stove. F represents the firebasket, which is essentially the same as those in ordinary use, the only difference being that in the present case the supporting-lugs G G are perfectly straight, instead of hook-shaped, and project horizontally from the ends of said basket. These straight and horizontally-projecting lugs or stumps are of such size as to A traverse freely the slots d of the jamb-blocks, and at the same time to rest upon the bases E E of the same. Securely anchored to the jambs B B and rear wall C is a fixedgratesection, H, upon which the rear portion ofthe basket F rests, whether the latter is in its advanced or retracted position. A lug or lugs, I, projecting vertically from the front edge of the fixed section H, serve to prevent tipping or forward displacement of the basket F when drawn out, as represented in Fig. 2.

In tting the fixed sectionH in the fire-place, care should be taken to have its bars h in the same vertical .plane as the corresponding bars fof the basket, as this arrangement is necessary in order to prevent the grate becoming choked up with cinders, ashes, &c., when the shiftable section is shoved back in the lreplace, as shown in Fig. 3.

In setting the above described preferred form of my grate, the jambs B B' are carried up a proper distance, and the basket F is then applied to the blocks D D', so as to cause its lugs G G' to lit within the slots cl, after which the masonry or tiles are built around the said supports D D', so as to embed them securely in the fire-place. This having been accomplished, the fixed section I is secured in the lire-place in such a manner as to support the rear of basket F, and the remaining portions of the jambs and back are then carried up and finished in any suitable manner, which completes the act of setting the grate.

The manner of employing my grate is obvious, and it will be readily understood that when the weather is very cold the basket F can be drawn completely out as far as the frame A, thereby affording an unusual depth of receptacle for retaining` coals and allowing the grate to radiate the maximum amount of heat into the room in which it is situated, as shown in Figsl and 2. As soon as the weather moderates and less heat is required, the grate F can be shoved back upon fixed section II', and the capacity of the lire-chamber reduced accordingly, as represented in Fig. 3. This ability to shift the grate to the rear of the fireplace will also be found useful when the fire is first started and has a tendency to smoke, or when the atmosphere is damp and heavy and the draft sluggish. Vhen warm weather sets in the grate can remain in this retracted position, and the summer front be applied to the frame A in the usual manner. By thus concealing the basket without removing it from the grate, access can be had to it, and a tire lighted at any time in case the weather should become unusually cool. The basket bein g at all times located within the lire-place, it is not necessary to fit it up whenever the seasons change, neither is there any necessity for having a special place to keep it in, where it might be lia-ble to rust or to occupy valuable space.

To render this arrangement of sliding grate applicable to nre-places having the customary form of basket with hooked lugs on the end of the same, it is only necessary to provide two L-shaped irons, J J', which are slipped into the slots d in the mannershown in Figs. 4 and 6. The hooked lugs 7c 7c' on an ordinary basket, 7c, are then engaged over the inwardly- `projecting members of said irons J J', after which said basket is capable of being operated in precisely the same manner as the one F previously described.

By omitting to carry the ends of plates D D' so far forward as to strike the rear of frame A, openings would be formed through which the lugs G G' could be passed if it was ever desired to remove the grate F. The blocks D D', instead of being slotted at d, may be grooved, or the lugs Gr G' may be confined to a horizontal path by two guiding-bars let into the side walls B D'. The jamb-block represented in Fig. 6 may be provided with a rib, L, to prevent the hooks J J' shifting transversely of said plates or blocks. These ribs may be carried up so' as to correspond in height with the flanges D D', and thereby assist the latter in supporting the course of bricks that rests upon the jamb-blocks.

I am aware that a grate arranged to slide horizontally, so as to vary the extent of exposed grate-surface, is not new. This, therefore, I do not broadly claim; but

lXVhat I do claim, and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent, is-

1. An improved grate, consisting of the fixed rear section H h and the horizontallyshiftable fire-basket F, the bars h Aand f ofthe two aforesaid members being' in the same vertical plane, substantially Ias herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of jamb-bloeks D D' d with the horiZontally-shiftable.taire-basket F G G', as herein explained and illustrated.V

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

cnnisrmiv nUMMnL.

Attest:

Giro. H. KNIGHT, Janus H. LAYMAN. 

